The city of Foley recently celebrated the achievements of Foley High School students and teachers who have excelled in advanced placement (AP) courses, earning statewide recognition for their accomplishments.

At a Foley City Council meeting on Jan. 27, Mayor Ralph Hellmich and the council approved a resolution honoring the school for receiving the prestigious School of Excellence Award from A+ College Ready and the Alabama Board of Education.

Foley High students achieved a record-breaking 258 qualifying scores on AP exams across 15 different courses, including physics, calculus and literature, during the 2024 academic year. Hellmich praised the school for the historic milestone and expressed his pride in the students' dedication saying the number set a school record.

"We want to celebrate all of the successes that we can, especially in education. We have had tremendous success with Foley High School and our partnership with the Baldwin County Board of Education," Hellmich said.

Additionally, Hellmich said the resolution recognizes the efforts by students, teachers, administrators and the Baldwin County Board of Education.

"We're proud of this," Hellmich said. "We're going to continue to support our system and to make sure that our high school can be super successful."

Foley High Principal Jessica Webb echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that the award reflects the collective hard work of both teachers and students.

"We have, I think, the best staff at Foley high school," Webb said. "It's our teachers and our kids who put in the work. I'm so proud of them."

Assistant Principal Stan Shotts highlighted the outstanding results achieved by the students, with many earning top scores of five on their AP exams.

"We had a school record 258 total passing scores, with many students achieving the highest score, which is a five. We partnered with A+ College Ready as part of a 3-year grant and we are integrating some pretty cool stuff in all of our classes. Every student with a passing score earned college credit as well as a gift card. Our school was awarded over $26,000 in gift cards. We are very excited to partner with them again this year and I know we will have many more students earn passing scores, college credits and gift cards."

Baldwin County Superintendent Eddie Tyler praised the results as some of the best he's seen for the school.

"I've never heard those scores coming out of Foley High School in the past," Tyler said. "This is exciting and refreshing, and I know that they're on a mission. That's not going to stop here. They're on a mission to be one of the best, of the best. And that's going to put them in a category with all of our high schools that are really marching toward excellence."

Foley High was one of only nine Alabama schools to receive the School of Excellence designation for 2024. The honor is given to high schools that meet or exceed their goals set by A+ College Ready, significantly increasing the number of AP qualifying scores among students. Foley High was the sole school in the Mobile Bay region to achieve this recognition.